Sri Lanka has been plunged into constitutional crisis as two men claim to be its lawful prime minister, one of them the strongman former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The current president, Maithripala Sirisena, announced late on Friday that he had sacked the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with Rajapaksa, whose 10-year rule was marred by allegations of forced disappearances, brutality and creeping authoritarianism. Yesterday Sirisena suspended parliament until mid-November, stopping Wickremesinghe calling an emergency vote to challenge the decision.

The shock firing of Wickremesinghe – on what appears to be an uncertain legal basis – is the culmination of months of open hostility between the two men, who come from opposing parties and have governed in coalition since 2015.

Sri Lanka in political turmoil after prime minister Wickremesinghe sacked

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Activists warn that Rajapaksa’s return would call into question progress made in Sri Lanka since the civil war, such as the flourishing of civil society groups, investigations into alleged corruption and human rights abuses during his tenure, and cooperation with a UN investigation into crimes committed during the conflict.

“A lot of people, especially Tamils, have poked their heads up to organise protests, or be witnesses in multiple corruption and criminal cases,” said one activist, who asked not to be named. “All those people will potentially have reasons to be afraid.”

Sri Lankans learned of the drama around 7pm on Friday, when television programming was interrupted by a live broadcast of Rajapaksa’s swearing-in. As Rajapaksa’s supporters celebrated in the capital, Colombo, Wickremesinghe, 69, told a televised press conference the decision to dismiss him had been unconstitutional. “I am addressing you as the prime minister of Sri Lanka,” he said. “I remain as prime minister and I will function as the prime minister.”

He was still living at Temple Trees, the prime ministerial residence, yesterday, but Sirisena had started dismissing Wickremesinghe appointees.On Friday night Rajapaksa supporters took control of state-owned newspaper and TV outlets, briefly forcing two of them off the air. Paramilitary units of the Sri Lankan police have been deployed around key institutions.

Legally the Sri Lankan president cannot dismiss the prime minister unless he has lost the confidence of the country’s 225-seat assembly. Wickremesinghe, whose United National party holds the most parliamentary seats, called for an emergency vote, but before this could happen Sirisena announced the suspension of parliament.

Namal Rajapaksa, an MP and the son of the former president, told the Observer he was confident his father would command a majority when parliament reconvened. “We just need a couple of weeks to decide how this government is going to work,” he said.

Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group said the country was in deep turmoil. “Even through years of war, Sri Lanka has never had a transfer of power whose legality was questioned,” he said, adding that the country now faced nearly three weeks of behind-the-scenes jockeying as both camps fought for support.

“There will be a fight, but in the interim you will have this dangerous period with competing parties claiming to the legitimate holders of power,” he said.

The UK and Australian high commissions have warned their citizens to avoid political gatherings while the US state department called on all parties to heed the country’s constitution and refrain from violence.

Western diplomats said they expected Rajapaksa would soon announce a cabinet in an effort to make his transition appear as the new reality. “They will act as if this is a done deal, making it harder to unpick,” one said.Sirasena and Wickremasinghe joined forces at the last presidential election to defeat Rajapaksa.